President Barack Obama proposed rebates of up to $3,000 to help homeowners pay for the cost of making their homes more energy efficient as part of a $6 billion program to create jobs. The efficiency plan, which must be passed by Congress, is intended to prompt Americans to invest in everything from insulation or new windows to overarching energy upgrades of their homes, creating construction and manufacturing jobs and boosting energy efficiency, reported The Washington Post. Full Story

The state of Hawaii has adopted NFPA 1 as the state fire code for the first time. Its adoption of the code took effect as of January 1, 2010. Full Story

The U.S. Green Building Council released its Top 10 lists of green building legislation in the House and Senate. Full Story

The Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that a general contractor's commercial general liability (CGL) policy should, once a project is completed, cover problems that arise from work performed by a subcontractor. The 9-0 decision Feb. 11 was the result of litigation between Architex Association, which built the Country Inn and Suites in Pearl, and Scottsdale Insurance Co., which issued Architex its CGL policy, reported Finance & Commerce. Full Story

The Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify program might be failing to detect one out of two illegal workers whose employment authorizations are screened, outside consultants have told the agency, reported The Wall Street Journal. Full Story

Members of the Vinyl Institute and the American Architectural Manufacturers Association are protesting a proposed credit in the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Part of a new LEED Pilot Credit Library, the proposed credit would reward projects for not using vinyl products, reported Window & Door. Full Story

United Technologies Corp. has closed on its deal to buy the security business of General Electric. UTC says it sold $2.25 billion in debt to help fund the purchase price of about $1.82 billion based on an agreement the two companies announced in November. Full Story

Click here for more Industry Access news including recent new hires, merger & acquisition activity and who's offering new products.

* DHI Members may submit news releases to be considered for inclusion in DHI's IndustryWatch. Send to: jmadden@dhi.org

A Netherlands train station is using a revolving door to produce some of the building's electricity. The train station anticipates the coming and going of patrons to provide 4,600 kWh of energy per year, reported Buildings.com. Full Story

Reed Construction Data identified 20 of the largest upcoming construction projects in California and Florida. They are all in the planning stage and are mainly new projects, but may also involve additions and/or alterations. Full Story

New York has the highest dollar-per-square-foot construction costs in the country, based on RSMeans' measures of dollar-per-square-foot construction costs. San Francisco, Boston, Chicago and Philadelphia are the other centers that make up the top five among major U.S. urban areas. Relatively low-cost cities are mainly in the southeast and southwest, including Miami, Phoenix, Atlanta, Houston and Dallas. New Orleans is also low cost despite the restoration that has been underway since Hurricane Katrina, reported Reed Construction Data. Full Story

The First Quarter 2010 Turner Building Cost Index, which measures non-residential building construction costs in the U.S., has decreased by 0.5% from the Fourth Quarter 2009 and decreased 7.74% from the First Quarter 2009. Construction costs have decreased by 13.06% since their peak at the end of 2008. Full Story

Beginning its third year of negative conditions, the Architecture Billings Index (ABI) had a drop of almost three points in January. The American Institute of Architects (AIA) reported the January ABI rating was 42.5, down sharply from a revised reading of 45.4 in December. The new projects inquiry score was 52.5, down more than seven points. Full Story

The January Producer Price Index for Wood Doors (flush & panel, interior & exterior) was down 0.7% from 2009 and the Other Wood Doors (Incl. garage, screen, storm, etc.) PPI was down 1.3% compared to a year earlier. Compared to December, the unadjusted January PPI was down 0.3% for Wood Doors and down 1.5% for Other Doors, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The PPI for Metal Doors, Sash & Trim was down 0.2% from December and down 2.8% from 2009. The PPI for Builders Hardware was down 2.3% from 2009 and down 1.2% from a month earlier. Click here to view the full January Producer Price Index report. (PDF file - Wood Door information is on page 16, Builders Hardware and Metal Door data are on page 22)

According to Reed Construction Data the value of construction starts in January 2010, excluding residential contracts, totaled $24.1 billion, 20.1% more than in January 2009. January starts were 6.3% higher than December starts. Both months suffered from unseasonably poor construction weather which likely depressed starts as well as causing a large pickup in construction layoffs. Full Story

Construction spending fell for a third straight month in January as a lag in commercial activity such as office buildings and hotels offset a housing rebound. The trouble that builders are facing will likely weigh on overall economic activity in coming months. The Commerce Department said that construction spending dropped 0.6% in January, a decline that was slightly smaller than the 0.7% drop that economists had expected. Full Story

The Associated General Contractors of America has posted a discussion that helps sort out the differences in the construction starts data from different sources. Full Story

Four building teams offered their input to a Building Design & Construction article which looked at negotiating the many obstacles associated with expanding and renovating occupied hospitals. Full Story

A new 160 story super tower planned for Miami could potentially beat out Dubai's Burj Khalifa as the world's tallest building if built, reported Inhabitat.com. Full Story

A number of school levies were passed across Washington State, reported the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce. Voters approved $4.66 billion in maintenance and operations levies, along with $507 million in bond issues and $816 million in capital projects. Full Story

An ambitious $365 million Pickens County, SC school building/renovation program is creating a construction boom in the county, reported IndependentMail.com. Full Story

AvalonBay Communities, the second-largest publicly traded apartment owner in the U.S., plans to start $400 million worth of construction this year, expecting record vacancies to give way to a rental shortage by 2012, reported The Washington Post. Full Story

MassDevelopment has issued $30 million in tax-exempt bonds on behalf of the Perkins School for the Blind. The School plans to use these funds to finance two phases of construction at its Lower School, which serves children ages six to 14 years of age who are blind or visually impaired, reported The Watertown Tab & Press. Full Story

In Texas, chaining school doors has become "fairly common," as schools weigh security issues against fire safety concerns, said Kurt Harris, an administrator in the State Fire Marshal's office and past president of the Texas Fire Marshal's Association. In fact, the practice of chaining school doors in both urban and regional schools in Texas "has gotten worse," as school shootings and other incidents have heightened concerns about school safety, reported The Dallas Morning News. The issue will be high on the agenda at the annual state fire marshal's conference in the fall, he said. Full Story

A recent American School & University article discusses the issues to consider when designing for school security. Full Story

Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act

The Senate has passed H.R. 2847, the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act.  (Yes, this is one of those bills when the Senate takes a House-passed bill on another issue and strips everything out of it.) It includes a modest jobs tax credit, a temporary extension of the increase in the amount a business can write off in the year of purchase of equipment, some help for highway infrastructure spending, and an expansion of the "Build America" bond program.  The bill now goes to the House.

The jobs tax credit is actually a temporary combination new-hire payroll tax reduction/job retention credit.  The payroll tax reduction is based on hiring someone who has been unemployed for at least 60 days.  The employer would not have to pay the employer share of the social security component (6.2% of wages) of Federal Income Contributions Act (FICA) taxes for that individual.  In addition, if the employer retains newly hired employees that meet the qualifications of the law for at least 52 weeks and the individual's wages for such employment during the last 26 weeks of such period equaled at least 80% of such wages for the first 26 weeks of such period, the employer is entitled to a one-time $1,000 tax credit for each such employee.

The direct expensing allowance provision is often referred to by its tax code section, "Section 179."  H.R. 2847 would increase for the rest of this year the amount that can be written off in the first year to $250,000.  The amount is currently $125,000, indexed for inflation.  The bill also increases the investment cap in Section 179.  It is currently $500,000 indexed for inflation and the bill pushes it back up to $800,000 for the year.

DHI's Jerry Heppes sits on the board of the Small Business Legislative Council. If you'd like more information on these or other issues affecting small businesses, feel free to contact him at jheppes@dhi.org.

This material is protected under copyright law and contains confidential information.  It is for the sole personal, informational use of DHI members. It cannot be distributed, reprinted, referenced as a source for attribution, or otherwise made public.

Open More Doors in 2010...Advance Your Career Through Industry Education!
Take Advantage of Early Bird Pricing! Offer ends March 22.

DHI's National School April 25 – May 2, 2010 in Lansdowne, VA (40 minutes outside Washington, DC and a short drive from Dulles and Washington National Airports)

With only 2 National schools scheduled in 2010, take advantage of DHI's upcoming May 2010 National school in Lansdowne, VA, to increase your technical knowledge and hone your skills!  Register now! Our special Early Bird tuition rate offer ends March 22.

This upcoming school offers 18 different classes – including the Fire and Egress Door Assembly Inspection class (DAI 600)!

Please note that due to consistent high demand for DHI National Education, we recommend that you sign-up for classes as soon as possible to secure your spot BEFORE classes sell out. For a complete list of course offerings click here!

***Please be sure to go to www.dhi.org to register OR check out the February 2010 issue of Doors & Hardware for a summary of the Fall National School and complete registration information*** 

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Take a DHI Challenge Exam!

Use the knowledge you have gained through DHI education, industry training, and on-the-job experience by taking a DHI Challenge Exam online through our NEW Learning Management System (LMS). Passing a challenge exam will give you credit for a specific course needed for the DHI Education and Credentialing Program. By taking the Challenge Exam, you are indicating to DHI that you have gained enough knowledge of the subject matter through study and experience.

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For questions regarding Challenge Exams, please contact Amee Patel at 703-766-7025.

IN THE BEGINNING... FUNDAMENTALS OF ARCHITECTURAL DOORS AND HARDWARE
An Interactive Self-Study Course

Everybody has to start somewhere. This CD-based self-study course is a complete in-house training program providing a comprehensive introduction to industry products and their applications. It's a perfect cost-effective solution for on-going training needs.

Learn to answer basic questions about industry products and applications; read and interpret blueprints, hardware schedules and specifications; recommend appropriate hardware; and improve job site service and troubleshooting. Improve your customer service through a more confident staff - reduce costly errors and omissions with enhanced training of your staff, and improve productivity by bringing them up to speed...quickly!

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NOVICES entering the industry who want to expand their industry knowledge. Complete the course at your own pace in the comfort of your home or office.

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EMPLOYERS who are ready to invest in their employees. You'll be rewarded with knowledgeable, productive and profitable employees...without time away from the office and at a fraction of the cost.

Click here to order or for specific questions regarding the Self-Study Course, please contact Amee Patel at 703-766-7025.